Posts Tagged ‘Webster Hall’

  
Friday, May 29th, 2009

Live Music: Pattern Is Movement and St. Vincent @ Webster Hall, 5/20/09

by Taylor Long

Pattern is MovementPattern Is Movement have certainly lived up to the Movement part of their name, touring relentlessly since the release of their excellent fourth album, All Together. Seeing them for the third time since October, Pattern Is Movement’s set at Webster Hall last Wednesday was yet another in a line of charged, exciting performances. The duo debuted two new songs that sounded a little more aggressive than the rest of their cannon, though that could very well be because their live sound is beefier overall. Drummer Chris Ward’s rapid-fire drumming must be seen to be believed that there’s not some kind of magician responsible for some of those beats, and singer/keyboardist Andrew Thiboldeaux is both collected and charismatic, their mutual sense of whimsy exemplified in their constantly expressive faces and a flirty cover of D’Angelo’s “Untitled (How Does It Feel?)” (see video below).

Pattern is Movement, “Right Away” (download)

Headliner St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) was surprisingly staid. Having whipped through New York City oozing charm and cutesiness in the past, the first half of her set was underwhelming, the sound a little flat and thin, the band just trudging through. Though she pulled out impressive riff after impressive riff, and heartbreaking vocal after heartbreaking vocal, everything seemed just a little off until the band returned to join her after a brief solo stint for “Oh My God.” Luckily they hit their stride in time for “Marrow,” the most savage song she’s written yet. As she waltzed through “Just the Same But Brand New” and dug out first album favorites “Marry Me, John” and “Your Lips Are Red” for the encore, it was easy to chalk the tepid first half to a case of nerves.

St. Vincent, “Marrow” (download)

Pattern is Movement and St. Vincent have a slew of dates – mostly together – and if you haven’t seen either, you oughta step to this.

For more pictures, see here.


Pattern is Movement cover D’Angelo’s “Untitled (How Does It Feel?)” Live @ Webster Hall, May 20th

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Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

Live Music: Glasvegas @ Webster Hall, 3/30/09

by Taylor Long

glasvegasThey may only have an album and a Christmas EP behind them, but Glasgow’s Glasvegas are already performing like a big-time rock band.

Grabbing the attention of the US late last year with the release of their debut, self-titled album, Glasvegas have packed New York City venues of increasing sizes, including their most recent stop at Webster Hall last Monday.

Entering the stage amid blue strobe lights and fog machines, they opened with their hit, “Geraldine,” about a social worker, “I’ll be the angel on your shoulder / my name is Geraldine, I’m your social worker.”

Glasvegas, “Geraldine” (download)

The drenched guitars of their dream pop meets ’60s pop fell on the ears of a crowd that skewed older and more predominantly male than the average New York City indie rock audience. Both anthemic and cathartic, songs like “Fuck You It’s Over” and “Go Square Go” saw many fists (and beers) in the air. The band was equally enthusiastic, throwing themselves around the entire stage, and keeping in-between song banter to short appreciative statements, like “Thank you so fucking much” and “What can I say, man, I fucking love you.”

In a live setting, front man James Allan’s lyrics were particularly difficult to decipher through his thick accent, but this may have worked to the band’s advantage, since the lyrics tend to be the stuff of teenage LiveJournal entries. “I’m feeling so guilty about the things I said to my mum when I was ten years old,” he laments in mope jam, “It’s My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry.”

The set was short – they don’t have much material to choose from yet — but they managed an encore, and walked off stage with handshakes and gifts from fans. It’d be a safe bet that the next time Glasvegas come to New York City, the venue will be even bigger. (more…)

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Monday, March 30th, 2009

Live Music: Morrissey @ Webster Hall; the Grates and Micachu & the Shapes @ Pianos, 3/25/09

by Taylor Long

MorrisseyNew York City living, with its ever-expanding list of options, presents a reoccurring problem: What to do when you need or want to be in two places at once? Given the opportunity to see both legendary crooner Morrissey at Webster Hall for free and up-and-coming hype bands the Grates and Micachu & the Shapes for free, what does one do? Well, if you have experience covering festivals like CMJ, and enough money for cab fare, you do both.

Starting out at Webster Hall, the end of the set by openers the Courteeners was unsurprisingly Smiths-ish. At any other time and place, that might be perfectly fine, but as an opener for Morrissey? Who wants processed cheese when you can have cheddar?

Morrissey warmed the crowd up, once again, with a series of old video clips before his set. When the curtain dropped and the pompadoured singer took the stage, he asked, “I just have one soul searching question to ask you: Where the hell am I?” before jumping into Brooklyn bar dance hit, “This Charming Man.”

But, sadly enough, the same people that will likely bust a move to the song when it comes on at their local bar were noticeably less rapturous than the average Morrissey fanboy crowd. Were people there to say they saw Morrissey at a smaller venue than he usually plays, or where they simply there to see him?

Morrissey, however, was up to his normal tricks, casting shirts into the audience, whipping the mic around, brushing back his hair, and interjecting an air of mystery between songs with statements like, “I am a myth.” The set list was full of standard fare – “How Soon Is Now?” “Irish Blood, English Heart” “Billy Budd” – all of which were as aggressive as Morrissey has ever been, with the help of his current backing band. But lest we forget his reputation as the International Man of Misery, there was “Let Me Kiss You,” and “Seasick, Yet Still Docked” to tug at the heartstrings. (See below for a video of “Seasick, Yet Still Docked” from this show.)

Unfortunately, as he began mid-set standard “The Loop,” a cab and Piano’s were beckoning… (more…)

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Thursday, October 16th, 2008

The Notwist @ Webster Hall, Monday, Oct. 13th

by Taylor Long

wiimotes!In their recordings, the Notwist might give off the impression of being a sleepy little electro-pop band, but don’t let that twist your notions of what their live show is like. Sure, they hide behind the gentle guise of glasses (four out of the five touring members wear them), but in a live setting, their post-rock and hardcore roots really start to seep out.

The pattern for the night, if you can call it that, was usually a slow build, getting into a groove, then destroying it completely. The band was much heavier, particularly with bass, than on record. But even when the simmering aggression wasn’t coming through in song, it occasionally came through in action. During the intro to “Where in this World,” frontman Markus Acher yanked his guitar strings as though determined to break them.

The Notwist, “Where In This World” (download)

Still, there’s a reason why the audience sported more intelligent eyewear and phones than the average concert attendees. Band member Martin Gretschmann directed much of the band’s electronic components with a pair of Wiimotes, the controllers for the Nintendo Wii, and Markus Acher flipped through a stack of vinyl for sampling purposes. Gretschmann held up interesting toy after interesting toy for our admiration, and the band members looked amusedly awkward when noticing the flurry of cameras snapping pictures, each nuance part geekish yet part spectacle.

The setlist was evenly distributed between older hits and newer, but most of the material from The Devil, You + Me hasn’t quite reached the sing-a-long status of favorites from Neon Golden. “Pick Up the Phone” and “One With The Freaks” were tender favorites, requested via shouts from the audience, who also yelled thanks to the band when they started to play them, and then sang along (not too loudly, of course) or clapped choruses out of mild-mannered adoration. (more…)

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